Sequel to Others Such as Me. Xover Smallville & Highlander. Immortal!Dean 'verse. Chloe, Dean, Sam & Duncan go to Washington to help a friend with a ghost problem. Chloe is caught between the attentions of Richie and a jealous Dean

Pairing :
Well that's the story isn't it? Will it be Chloe/Dean or
Chloe/Richie?

Summary :
The gang returns to Seacouver, Washington and comes to the aid of
Duncan's old girl friend, Anne Lindsey, whose house is haunted. At
the same time, Chloe has distracting man issues to deal with and Sam
gets to play referee.

Nobody's
Girl

"Back
home again," Duncan said as he exited the Impala. "There's an
empty furnished apartment in behind the dojo that you guys can crash
in." He turned to look at their female companion, "Chloe, I hope
you don't mind sharing."

"Not
at all, some of the hotels we've stayed in have been less than five
star. I'm sure this will be fine."

Dean
had walked back to retrieve their duffels. Tossing Sam and Duncan
theirs, he slammed the trunk shut.

Chloe
cleared her throat, "Mine too, Dean"

He
glared at her, opened the trunk up again and walked away.

"Always
the gentleman I see."

"You
want to pull your own weight, then you can get your own luggage,"
Dean smirked as he followed Duncan into the dojo.

Sam
threw Chloe a sympathetic look and waited for her to grab her stuff,
"I thought you two were finally getting along?"

Chloe
chuckled, "Not since I made it clear that I wasn't interested in
his little brother in that way. I guess he figures there's no
reason to be nice any more."

"Chloe,
I'm sorry …"

"Hey,
don't apologize for your brother." She insisted as she hoisted
her duffle onto her shoulder.

"Does
this mean you'll be leaving soon?"

"And
give Dean the satisfaction of thinking I couldn't hack it. No
way." She slammed the trunk of the Impala as if to emphasize her
point.

Sam
laughed, "You two aren't stubborn at all." Sam couldn't help
but smile at the way Dean and Chloe danced around each other. He'd
hoped she'd stick around until the two of them figured it out.

Chloe
ignored his reference to Dean. Once she and Sam had realized they
were best suited to be friends, Sam had decided to take on the role
of match maker. Somehow he'd gotten the idea that she and Dean
would be good for each other. As
if!
Climbing out of her head she explained, "But my editor is making
noises that the series needs to wrap up. So as much fun as it is to
be ignored by your brother, I will have to go soon. Maybe one more
big case…who can say?"

"I
hope you'll stay. It's been nice to have someone to share the
research load."

Chloe
smiled at him. "Don't worry. You'll know where to find me if
you ever need to hack into highly secured facilities."

Following
Sam up the steps, Chloe once again got lost in her thoughts. Sam was
such a nice guy. Too bad she'd had her fill of nice guys with
Clark. Not, Dean. Dean was the complete opposite of Clark. He was
reckless and completely aware of his own sexual nature. She thought
back to the kiss they'd shared only a few months ago. True he'd
only done it to get her to be quiet and cooperate but she couldn't
shake the memory of it. She'd even dreamed about it. If she was
sure she didn't want someone safe like Sam, why was she fighting
against the bad boy danger that Dean represented? It was a dilemma
she still refused to voice aloud even if her subconscious kept trying
to show her the answer.

She
had an annoying feeling that when the time came for her to part ways
with her new friends, she was going to miss Dean.

She
entered the dojo to find Sam and Dean already in conversation with
Richie. Duncan had retreated to the dojo's office with a dark
haired woman and a young girl, "What's going on guys. Who's
that with Duncan?" She asked.

Richie
broke into a wide smile when he saw her, "Chloe. Still traveling
with these idiots? You must have a high tolerance for pain."

Chloe
returned his smile, "Now Richie, Sam and Mac aren't so bad."
She looked pointedly at Dean.

"Well,
it takes a pain in the ass to know one," Dean smirked.

"So
Dean, you finally admit it," Chloe laughed.

"Wait...no…"

"Master
of the witty retort as always," Chloe finished.

"Dean,
you shouldn't play if you don't have all the equipment," Richie
quipped. "Chloe's obviously too much woman for you to handle."

"Dude,
you want her. She's all yours." Dean shot back.

"Standing
right here," Chloe spoke up, "and I am not anyone's." Though
Chloe tried to be annoyed at the male posturing, she was actually a
little flattered that Richie showed so much interest in her. Last
time they were in town, she'd gone out with him. It had seemed to
annoy Dean enough that he'd mentioned it several times when they
got back on the road. Now, it hurt her brain to realize that a
jealous Dean made her smile.

"Guys
enough!" Sam had a low tolerance for the bickering. "Richie,
finish telling us about the case."

"We
have a case?" Chloe perked up.

"Yep,
it looks that way and this time I get to tag along," Richie stepped
closer to Chloe as he continued, "The woman is Anne Lindsey and the
little girl is her daughter Mary. They came to see us because her
house is haunted."

"Why
don't you let the professionals decide that?" Dean snapped.

Richie
looked over at his friend, "Dude, what is your problem?"

"Don't
mind him Richie. It's just that time of the month," Sam laughed
and threw Dean a look that said play nice.

Chloe
rolled her eyes. Laying a hand on Richie's arm she drew his
attention back to her and away from the strangeness brewing between
the two friends. "Why would she come to Duncan?" Chloe asked.

Smiling
down at Chloe, Richie laid his hand over hers holding it there.
"Anne knows all about Immortals. In fact, Duncan asked her to
marry him a long time ago but she couldn't handle the life.
They've stayed friends and Mary even calls Mac Uncle Duncan."

"Oh,
that's so sad," Chloe sympathized. "It makes sense if
something strange were happening that she would come to him."

"Exactly,"
Richie confirmed softly. He held her gaze and Chloe felt herself
blush. Richie really liked her, which only confused her, because
firstly, she wasn't used to getting attention like that, and
secondly, she wasn't sure just how she felt about him.

She
could feel Dean's eyes boring into her but before she could call
him on it or finish her thoughts about Richie. Duncan escorted Anne
and Mary into their little group.

Introductions
were made all around. Then Duncan encouraged Anne to relate the
strange things that had been happening in her house.

Hesitantly,
she told of flickering lights and strange noises coming from outside.
"Then we started seeing objects move but this morning was the
scariest. Mary looked out her window to see a young girl near the
garage. She was bloody and…" her voice broke as she tried to
finish her story. Mary was visibly scared by the memory and clung to
her mother

"It's
okay Anne, Mary" Duncan said. He had placed his arm around Anne
protectively and brushed his other hand through Mary's hair. It
was obvious to Chloe that he cared a great deal for this woman and
her daughter. "We'll find out what it is and get rid of it."

"It's
what we do," Sam echoed. "How long have you lived in the house?"

"Fourteen
years. But this stuff just started happening last week."

"You
doing any remodeling? Digging up the grounds?" Dean asked.

"The
garage. We're having it expanded. Why? Is that important?"

Dean
nodded, "You may have disturbed something that didn't want to be.
What about the contractor. Any of the workmen get hurt? "

"Yes,
one man fell off a ladder two days ago and broke his wrist." Her
eyes widened as the connection was made, "You think this ghost hurt
him."

"Most
likely," Sam confirmed grimly.

"Anne,
you and Mary need to stay here until this is resolved." Duncan
insisted. "It isn't safe in the house."

Anne
laughed nervously, "We've already packed a bag. We were headed
to a hotel when I hoped you might be able to help us."

Duncan
squeezed her to him, "I promise we will fix this. Let's get your
stuff and I'll take you up stairs." He walked Anne and Mary past
the rest of the group. Looking back at Dean he said, "You handle
this. I'm not leaving them alone until it's over."